page_title: San Pedro Sacatepéquez, San Marcos
section_title: 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: San Pedro Sacatepéquez, San Marcos / History / 20th century
caption_attribution_description: Español: Ruinas de la iglesia de San Pedro Sacatepéquez en 1925, destruida por la erupción del Volcán Santa María en 1902..
context_page_description: San Pedro Sacatepéquez is a city, with a population of 49,589, and a municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala. The municipality covers an area of 114 km² at an altitude of 2330 metres and has a population of 79,158.
  The city of San Pedro was named after Saint Peter Apostle, and a rooster is the official mascot. People born in the City are known as "Shecanos" because of a local pastry "sheca" that is famous throughout Guatemala. The City is located en route to the city of Quetzaltenango in a valley called La Ermita y la Esmeralda and is directly adjacent to the city of San Marcos. There is a strong rivalry with the capital city of the province of San Marcos that has existed from its beginnings. This rivalry manifests itself mostly at sporting events with some events unfortunately turning violent. San Pedro is thought by some to be the real capitol of the department because for many years the majority of businesses were located there as opposed to San Marcos however, universities, private schools and a military school are within San Marcos. The area as a whole is also known for its sweaters and warm clothing. It has a large market near the town square.
context_section_description: In 1902 the eruption of the Santa María volcano in the neighboring department of Quetzaltenango was responsible for the destruction of the twin towns of San Marcos and San Pedro Sacatepéquez. Before 1902 the volcano had been dormant for at least 500 years and possibly several thousand years, but its awakening was clearly indicated by a seismic swarm in the region starting in January 1902, which included a major earthquake in April 1902. The eruption began on 24 October, and the largest explosions occurred over the following two days, ejecting an estimated 5.5 cubic kilometres (1.3 cu mi) of magma.
  The pumice formed in the climactic eruption fell over an area of about 273,000 square kilometres (105,000 sq mi), and volcanic ash was detected as far away as San Francisco, 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) away. The eruption tore away much of the south-western flank of the volcano, leaving a crater about 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) in diameter and about 300 metres (980 ft) deep, stretching from just below the summit to an elevation of about 2,300 metres (7,500 ft). The first evidence of the eruption was a sprinkling of sand on Quezaltenango. The wind then changed from the south to the east and ashes began to fall at Helvetia, a coffee plantation six miles to the South-West. Because of the lack of previous Holocene activity at Santa María, local people did not recognise the preceding seismicity as warning signs of an eruption. At least 5,000 people died as a result of the eruption itself, and a subsequent outbreak of malaria killed many more.
  The towns were rebuilt and on 3 December 1926, San Pedro was designated as a city, but on 16 December 1935, it was annexed to San Marcos forming the municipality of La Unión San Marcos. However, this system did not work and La Unión San Marcos was broken apart on 20 July 1945, but San Pedro Sacatepéquez lost the capital of San Marcos Department to the municipality of San Marcos.
  On 21 August 1940 the main fair of the town was set to be celebrated on the last week of June, being the main event on 29 June, day of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The celebration is known as "Flor de Retana" (Spanish: Flower of Retana) and the people dresses up with vintage ceremonial clothing to celebrate their ancestors.
caption: San Pedro Sacatepéquez catholic church ruins in 1925. It was destroyed along the rest of the town by the 1902 Volcán Santa María eruption.
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